In an attempt to solve the problems of traditional smoking, electronic cigarettes and vaporizers have come to the forefront. These devices employ the use of a liquid, concentrate, or dry material inhalants that often comprise glycol ad-mixtures, wax-like substances, herbs, flowers, and other medicinal substances. In the conventional art, the inhalant is placed on or otherwise drawn to and over a metal heating element, such as a metal coil, which coil receives electrical energy from an on-board battery. The electrical energy is converted to heat, thereby heating and vaporizing the inhalant material brought in contact with the heating element. The resultant vapor, smoke, or other aerosol is then inhaled by way of a mouthpiece in fluid communication with an air channel disposed through the device.
In most electronic cigarettes and vaporizers, the inhalant material is brought into direct contact with the heating element, which heats and often burns or combusts the inhalant material through conduction. The downside of these electronic cigarette and vaporizer systems is that repeated heating and cooling of the metal heating element will cause transfer of heavy metals into the resultant vapor or smoke, resulting in inhalation of harmful and unwanted heavy metal material. Recent studies have in fact shown that heavy metal exposure caused by traditional electronic cigarettes and vaporizers is as harmful as or possibly more harmful than exposure to the carcinogens found in traditional cigarettes.
In addition to the toxicity issues associated with direct contain between the target inhalant material and the metal heating coil, traditional electronic cigarette and vaporizer systems suffer from degradation of and eventual loss of performance due to waste buildup on the metal coil and the surrounding area. As the buildup continues to develop, the device tends to generate less available smoke or vapor and the flavor and “hit” consistency will be impacted. Sooner than later the metal coil will need to be cleaned using toxic chemicals or, in most cases, will need to be replaced regularly.
In other systems, such as those described in Applicant's U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/987,851 and 15/832,582, each of which is herein incorporated by reference (among others as specifically set forth and identified herein), indirect heating of the inhalant material is accomplished by providing an electronic cigarette and/or vaporizer system wherein the inhalant material disposed above and at least somewhat spaced apart from the heating element, such that the heating element in effect “bakes” the inhalant material. By that, baking denotes that the heat source is disposed beneath the inhalant material such that convection due to the rising heat is sufficient to heat the inhalant material for inhalation. While “baking”-type systems are useful and efficient, in certain circumstances the baking configuration can cause an overflow of inhalant material or inefficient heating to the point where the inhalant material undesirable falls down onto or otherwise makes direct contact with the heating element or portions of the inhalant material remain unheated or partially heated, to the detriment of the overall smoking experience.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed at an alternative to the “burn”-type and “bake”-type electronic cigarettes and vaporizer systems. Namely, the present invention contemplates various embodiments of a broiler-type heating device for electronic cigarettes and vaporizer systems.
It will be recognized that some or all of the Figures are schematic representations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarily depict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. The Figures are provided for the purpose of illustrating one or more embodiments of the invention with the explicit understanding that they will not be used to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.